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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28235709">Escaping the Toppats</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdStreak/pseuds/fluffynerdsdivided'>fluffynerdsdivided (NerdStreak)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Escape, F/M, Redemption, Swearing, Toppats (Henry Stickmin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:21:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,272</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28235709</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdStreak/pseuds/fluffynerdsdivided</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A spy mission gone wrong leads to a Toppat Clan member named Rosey rethinking her choices.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Charles Calvin/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Escaping the Toppats</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was supposed to be a quick mission: steal a bit of government documentation to 1. retaliate against them for sending some two-bit chump thief to do their dirty work, and 2. to get some helpful information to further their rocket plans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rosey was promised the prospect of promotion if this mission was successful. Payment wasn’t exactly mentioned, but she figured the possibility of moving up in the ranks of the Toppats could have more benefits than she had now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything was going perfect. She had the documents in hand, sneaking around the seemingly empty halls of their base in the dead of night… and then she encountered some guy in red headphones who just had to be awake, just to show up and ruin everything. They stared at each other in tense silence before Rosey’s fight or flight decided to kick into gear.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Run.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She grinned at him and booked past him, clutching the folder to her chest. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“TOPPAT INFILTRATION!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she heard the man yell into his headset, before the sound of him sprinting towards her was getting closer quickly. Crap. Desperately, she reached for her gun, but before she could properly aim behind her, she was immediately met with his face for mere milliseconds before she was tackled to the ground hard, documents and weapon flying out her hands. Along with the unpleasant feeling of tasting cold tile, she was pretty sure the fall twisted her ankle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow!! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Fuckin’ Christ, dude!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toppat neutralized, get me a little backup here,” her assailant relayed into his mic. His knee dug into her back, pinning her arms to her sides.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah yeah, you got the fuckin’ bad guy, now ease up, asshole!” she hissed at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few moments later, another soldier showed up with a pair of cuffs, carefully aiming his gun at her. “Nice job, Calvin,” he praised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave a cool huff of acknowledgement, taking the cuffs and restraining her. “Help me get her up,” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, about that,” Rosey started, attempting to turn her head and look back at him. “Hero Calvin over here probably twisted my ankle so good luck gettin’ me wherever the hell you’re gonna take me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well at least we know you’re not gonna run,” he remarked. He then got up off her and lifted her up over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Let’s get ‘er to the guardhouse.” He then started walking with the soldier to said guardhouse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hope you like the view, flyboy,” she snarked, since she was hoisted over his shoulder with her bottom half facing forward. With the pilot’s jacket he wore, she could reasonably assume he was one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Calvin rolled his eyes. “You have the right to remain silent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohh, is that the polite government way of tellin’ me to shut the hell up? Alright, I getcha. Shutting up now.” And she actually kept her word, staying silent until she was plopped down in a seat  and now cuffed to a table in some interrogation room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Calvin sat across the table from her, eyes narrowing. “Alright, now just what business did you have coming here, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Toppat?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He hissed the clan name like an insult.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought I had to remain silent,” she smugly replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now is when you </span>
  <em>
    <span>start </span>
  </em>
  <span>talking.” He scrutinized her up and down. “Why’d they send you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rosey huffed. “The fuck you think, genius? You send some nobody over to the airship division to steal our info, of course they’d send somebody to steal info from you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see. So you’re the, uh, ‘nobody’ sent in retaliation,” Calvin noted. It was to be expected, he supposed. The Toppat Clan didn’t take kindly to being crossed after all, which was why they tried to keep their distance and merely monitor the gang from afar until they had substantial evidence to make arrests.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat up straight. “Hey, I’m not just some nobody! You just took a petty thief off the street, I’m actually a valuable part of this damn clan! You ever seen our logo?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cocked an eyebrow. “The insignia? What about it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grinned, pointing to herself with her thumb. “All me. Wouldn’t look half as good without me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He huffed. “An artist, huh? So then you must be pretty high up if you designed it, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rosey went quiet, her eyes shifting a bit. “Uh… y-yeah, of course.” She wished. This was supposed to be her big break, but Calvin here just fucked it all up for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The soldier from earlier poked his head in the room. “Calvin, General’s here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Scuse me.” Calvin then stood, walking out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rosey briefly heard the general say something akin to ‘Charlie’ before the door was shut. Ohh, of course Calvin must be a last name, what with the military usually being on a last name basis. Charlie Calvin… Wasn’t that the same name of the kid from that ‘Santa Clause’ movie? She snickered to herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Charlie,” General Galeforce began. “Good on you for actin’ so quickly even late at night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heh, yeah, guess it was a good thing I wasn’t quite tired yet.” Charles smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what do we got here?” the general questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toppat spy, of course. Tried to make off with some intel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see. Got anythin’ out of ‘em, yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She hasn’t said much yet, but I, uh, think I hit a nerve though. Possibly pretty low ranking. Lemme just talk with her first,” Charles suggested. “Might not take much to convince her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Galeforce nodded, allowing him to proceed with the light interrogation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles walked back into the room, sitting across from her again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome back, Charlie,” Rosey greeted with a grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He huffed. “Guess you heard the general say my name then, huh? Alright then, you know I’m Charles. How about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised her eyebrows a bit in surprise. Now he was being more friendly? “...Rosey,” she replied. “Rosey Ribboner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles nodded. Likely more of a nickname, he’d heard a lot of the clan members choose their own nicknames. “Rosey. Suits you, with all the pink you’ve got going on.” After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again. “So, what’s it like in the Toppat Clan?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She groaned. “Ugh, small talk, really? I know what you really want, you wanna know what I was trying to steal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That can come later. Right now, I just wanna talk. Gimme a day in the life of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, ankle twister, the first thing I do in the morning is start with eggs and a tall glass of Nunya Business.” The mention of eggs however, got her stomach audibly growling. Damn, it had been a few hours since she last ate. She only ate a small early supper before prepping to infiltrate this base.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles’s brows furrowed in concern. “Sounds like you need some right about now.” He leaned forward in his seat. He hated to assume things, but he felt like he had to ask. “Listen, do the Toppats, uh… actually treat you well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rosey looked away in embarrassment. Why’d he have to hear that? She fiddled with the links on her cuffs a bit. “Yeah, they do, okay? I had dinner like 6 hours ago, sue me. We’re provided for. Don’t you worry about me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you paid well? If at all?” he pried further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...In a way, yeah. Like I said, we’re provided for,” she simply responded, still not looking at him. Just the stuff they stole was payment, as well as food deliveries to the lackeys’ room and board, but the higher ups of course kept a horde of most of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did they pay you for the work you did for their insignia?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that, she remained silent. No, no they didn’t. Once, she had even asked, and was only met with the same retort everyone else got when asking about further payment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her silence spoke for itself. Charles looked over to the guard by the door, addressing him. “Hey, can we get some kind of food in here? Cereal? A sandwich? What, uh, kind of sandwiches you like? Peanut butter? Yeah, just something, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A bit hesitant, the guard nodded and went outside to tell the soldier waiting outside of Charles’s request.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned back to her. “How’s your foot?--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop it,” she hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m sorry--?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever kinda mind games you’re trying to pull, just fucking stop it, okay?? Go ahead and toss me in jail and get it over with! Just like you’ll eventually do to the rest of the clan. We’re all just the same crooks in your eyes!” She clutched at the table, fighting back tears. No one really cared about her. No one. He could stop pretending now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles was taken aback by this. Sure, she was a member of the Toppat, but she was also a human being, and a human being he would treat with the same decency as any other. Besides, she didn’t seem all too bad, just… misguided maybe. “Miss, please, I’m just--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll just tell you what you wanna know anyway so you can be through with me, alright?? It’s a rocket! We’re trying to build an orbital rocket! Happy now?? So shut your yap and throw me behind bars already!!” She then slammed her cuffed fists onto the table, head lowered defeatedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He jumped a bit at the sudden slam, as tense moments of silence followed. Damn, what do you even say to that…? “Uh… well, yes, I’m glad you said something sooner than later… but you’re not getting thrown in jail right this--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” she bitterly laughed. “Ohh, I get it, you’re gonna send me back to the clan empty handed, lookin’ like an absolute </span>
  <em>
    <span>failure </span>
  </em>
  <span>who got her ass kicked, and make my life in the clan worse than it already is! The perfect punishment!” Tears finally spilled over, despite her best efforts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles grimaced as her voice raised more and more, surprised she was admitting all this. And seeing her cry didn’t help his doubts about a full arrest. And the way she put it about letting her go back, which wasn’t even on the table anyways, confirmed a lot of his suspicions. He sighed. “Listen, Rosey. We won’t do that either. Right now, if we just talk, things’ll be more okay. Sounds like you deserve a lot better than what you have right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No I don’t,” she sniffled, now slumped over the table, avoiding his gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure you do.” Just then, the guard from earlier came back with a peanut butter sandwich wrapped up in a napkin, handing it to Charles and telling him what the item was. The pilot turned back to her. “At the very least, you deserve something to eat. We got you a peanut butter sandwich here for ya.” He slid it towards her on the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Does it have jelly?” she quietly asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles looked at the guard, who shook their head no. “No, sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment, Rosey took the sandwich, unwrapping the napkin from it. “Good. I don’t like jelly…” After peeling the crusts off, she got to eating, intermittent sniffles sounding from her. Once she was through, she wrapped up the crusts in the napkin, then wiped at her wet eyes with the palm of her hand. “Thanks…” she mumbled hoarsely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles patiently waited for her to finish, happy that she took the offer. Slowly but surely, he was getting to her. “You’re welcome. I’m guessing being part of the Toppats isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rosey sighed. “No… And I guess I never really… realized it until you kinda put it into perspective in it for me. Sure they treat us ‘well,’ but it’s not exactly… </span>
  <em>
    <span>fair,</span>
  </em>
  <span> y’know? The higher ups say we’re like a family, but I feel like it’s like when a corporation tries to say that dumb shit. It’s nothin’ but empty words. Probably hardly anyone there would notice or miss me if I was gone. Probably why I was sent here. Practically a suicide mission.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles nodded thoughtfully, listening intently. “So, are you considering possibly… leaving the Toppat Clan then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave another deep sigh. Removing her pink ribbon-tailed top hat, she gave it a thoughtful glance for a few moments, mulling over the fancy headwear. This was her identity in the clan, one of the only things that differentiated her from any other member.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell you what,” he spoke up once more. “Denounce the clan, tell us anything you know about that rocket plan, and I’ll put in a word with the general to pardon you for your involvement, and you’ll be free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked back up at Charles in surprise, then back at the hat one more time, before placing it down on the table. “Yes. Yes, I’ll do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that’s what I like to hear!” Charles pumped his fist. He then stood and walked over to her, hand outstretched to shake her own. “Thank you very--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Rosey attempted to stand to meet him, she was suddenly and harshly reminded of her sprained ankle. Definitely some torn muscles in there. She hissed a cuss through her teeth, stumbling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah!” Charles caught her and helped her sit back down. “I gotcha. We’ll get something for that foot, and get you out of those cuffs. Maybe also get you some place to sleep that isn’t a jail cell. I’ll go chat with the general.” He then turned to leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just before he left, Rosey called out once more. “Hey Charles!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to look back at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave her a wink and thumbs up before exiting the interrogation room.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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